Tag: teriyaki

Every March, the Arizona Aloha Festival at Tempe Beach Park celebrates the little-known fact that the Phoenix Metropolitan Area is home to one of the largest populations of Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders on the United States mainland. Amid the dance performances, exhibitor booths, and outrigger canoes, there are dozens of food vendors selling plate lunches, the popular and hearty meals of Hawaii. All the plate lunch purveyors at the festival are worth trying, but one of the longest lines always belongs to the booth operated by Paradise Hawaiian BBQ.Continue reading “Paradise Hawaiian BBQ”→

IIn most cities, the term “avenue” implies a broad arterial street. In the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, any street west of Central Avenue can be a numbered avenue, and even on the east side of town, “avenue” is a term used more liberally than in many other places. In Tempe, Forest Avenue has a brief three-block span between the Tempe Transportation Center and Arizona State University, but that short length is packed with dense development and diverse dining options. One restaurant, Grilled Ave Teriyaki House, even incorporates the idea of an avenue into its name.

Follow the light rail tracks west along Camelback Road from Central to 19th Avenue, and a rapid transition occurs. Uptown, the area centered around Central and Camelback is predominantly white and a magnet for upscale businesses, both local and national. 19th Avenue is a multi-ethnic corridor with some of the best bargains to be found in local dining. The area in between is transitional, and one restaurant located there, PT Noodles, seems to fit well in that zone with an approach halfway between Americanized familiarity and Vietnamese authenticity.

Every February, Downtown Phoenix’s Heritage Square is home to the Arizona Matsuri, a festival of Japanese culture. Of course, that means dozens of vendors selling popular Japanese-influenced foods like teriyaki. When the tents have been folded and the taiko drumming has stopped, the question then becomes where to enjoy teriyaki the rest of the year. One of the best answers is the Blue Fin, a quick service Japanese restaurant located just a mile to the north, across the street from the McDowell / Central light rail station. Continue reading “The Blue Fin”→